Reid Simpson was a true ’90s enforcer, racking up 838 penalty minutes in just 301 NHL games. One time, he fought Joey Kocur—and afterward, he received the most surprising chirp of his entire career.
During the 1990s, the NHL was stacked with tough enforcers. In many cases, teams carried more than one player who was ready to drop the gloves at any moment.
READ MORE: How Joey Kocur saved Kirk Maltby and Kris Draper from a beating
Never backed down
Simpson represented the Philadelphia Flyers, Minnesota North Stars, New Jersey Devils, Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning, St. Louis Blues, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, and Pittsburgh Penguins during his 12-year NHL career.
Simpson never backed down from a fight, though there were players he was a bit reluctant to face. Joey Kocur was one of them. With 2,519 career penalty minutes, Kocur ranks 21st in NHL history. One night, the two finally squared off—but it was what happened after the fight that shocked Simpson the most. As he recalled on the Ice Guardians podcast, the moment stuck with him.
Reid Simpson fought Joey Kocur
“I got in a fight with Joey Kocur, right in front of the bench. I’ve had a bunch of fights with him in New York when I played for the Devils. You knew you could hang in there, but if you screwed up, you’d be laying on the ice.
He hit me in the side of the helmet and my head was ringing, and I’m thinking to myself, ‘God damn it, if my helmet had been off I would’ve been laying on the ice.’
He’s chirping me on the bench, and I’m looking at him like, ‘Why is he chirping me? I thought he was my buddy.’
I came back to the bench after, and something happened, and I stood up and started chirping someone. Then Yzie stood up and goes, ‘Shut the hell up, Simmer. You’re an idiot. You’re terrible.’
I was so deflated. I’m like, ‘Steve Yzerman just called me a bad hockey player.’ And all I could say was, ‘If I was on your team, I’d be your best friend.’ He just kind of looked at me and went, ‘Yeah, you probably would be.’”
You can watch the hilarious story below.
READ MORE: Joey Kocur remembers his first fight against Bob Probert
